Photo: Kevstan · CC BY-SA 3.0Half of Nakusp is over 53.2, older than 92% of Canadian towns
In Nakusp, 12% of residents are under 15, beside 16% across Canada’s towns. Statistics Canada puts the town’s population at 1,740 for July 2025. Here, nearly two thirds of residents said they have no religion. Higher than in 88% of Canadian towns: 17% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
What stands out about the people of Nakusp
Older than most towns
Nakusp’s median age is 53.2; the typical median across Canadian towns is 42. 32% are 65 or over, against 19% across Canada’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Nakusp changed by −1% from 2016 to 2021, behind 85% of Canadian towns
Every figure here comes from the 2021 Census unless it carries another date. How the population moved between the last two censuses, and since.
Change, 2016 to 2021
For comparison, the median is +4% across Canada’s towns and +6% across British Columbia’s towns. By July 2025, the estimate had risen a further 10%.
More residents aged 65 and over than 96% of Canadian towns: 32%
Residents by five-year age band, each beside the typical town (the tick).
Against a figure of 11% across Canada’s towns, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 in Nakusp comes in at 9.7%. Across the comparison, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Smaller households than 90% of Canadian towns: 2 people on average
Households by family type and by the number of people in them.
Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Compared with 27% across Canada’s towns, 37% of households are one person living alone here. In Nakusp, 5.9% of households are one-parent families.
Above 62% of Canadian towns: 12% of residents 15 and over live common-law
Married, common-law, single: residents 15 and over.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Singles who have never married make up 24% of adults, beside a typical 27%. The usual figure: 11% of residents 15 and over live common-law across Canada’s towns.
Nakusp: 81% of households live in a single-detached house, above 74% of Canadian towns
Dwelling types, tenure and age of the housing. Prices, rents and shelter costs are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Owners and renters · share of households
When homes were built · share of homes
Just over a third of homes were built before 1961 and 20% in 2001 or later. The usual figure: 64% of households live in a single-detached house across Canada’s towns. The share of renter households is 24%, against 25% across Canada’s towns.
$64,500 a year is the median household income here
The census asked about income in 2020: a pandemic year, with CERB and other emergency benefits counted in. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
Household incomes run lower in Nakusp: half had less than $64,500, 25% under the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). $87,000 is the median household income across British Columbia’s towns. 23% of income recipients received COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefits (typical: 28%).
9.1% of residents are immigrants
Where immigrants were born and when they came, and how recently residents moved in.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 20%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Across Canada’s towns, the share of immigrants is 17%; Nakusp has 9.1%. Immigrants here were most often born in Europe (54%), then in the Americas (25%). Compared with other places, residents without Canadian citizenship are scarce here: 1.9%, fewer than in 77% of Canadian towns.
8.4% of residents have an Indigenous identity, a share 83% of Canadian towns don’t reach
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
With visible minority residents at 1.6%, Nakusp is behind 89% of Canadian towns on that count. Across Canada’s towns, Indigenous residents come to 2.8%.
93% have English as their mother tongue; 4.8% also speak French
The official languages residents can speak, and the ones they learned first.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
The share of bilingual residents trails 77% of Canadian towns: 4.8%. 1.3% of residents have French as their mother tongue.
Degree holders aged 25 to 64: 17%, a lower share than 77% of Canadian towns
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
Some 8.3% have no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%. On average, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
A job for 49% of residents aged 15 and over
Census day was in May 2021, mid-pandemic: some of these rates are lower than in a usual year. Work, briefly: employment, unemployment, participation and working from home. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
At 49%, fewer residents are in work than the typical 58% across Canada’s towns, and 32% are 65 or over.
Among its 5 nearest neighbours, 3 are older than Nakusp
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page. Nakusp has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 11–74 km out.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nakusp | 1,740 | — | 53.2 | 32% | 9.1% |
| Electoral Area K, Central Kootenay | 1,965 | 10.7 km | 59.6 | 36% | 14% |
| Electoral Area D, Central Kootenay | 1,596 | 54.7 km | 56 | 32% | 20% |
| Electoral Area E, North Okanagan | 1,248 | 59.3 km | 48 | 23% | 6% |
| Electoral Area H, Central Kootenay | 5,390 | 72.1 km | 47.2 | 22% | 12% |
| Kaslo | 1,141 | 73.9 km | 58 | 36% | 18% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against British Columbia’s towns and Canada’s towns. Provincial and national yardsticks: British Columbia’s towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500 residents, and all Canadian towns of that size. No whole city and no First Nations reserve is in either median.
- What these tables don’t give. Not in the Census Profile: unpaid care, cars, internet access, and how each age group has changed since 2016. We also chart no ethnic origins besides visible minority and Indigenous identity.
- The census’s own words. These are self-reported answers: Indigenous identity, immigrant status, religion. The census’s “visible minority” comes from the Employment Equity Act (non-white in colour or race, Indigenous peoples aside), and the page sets each beside other towns without labelling any.
Questions about Nakusp’s residents
Is Nakusp bilingual?
4.8% of residents can speak both English and French (typical across Canada’s towns: 7.5%); 0% speak French only and 95% English only. French is the mother tongue of 1.3%.
How diverse is Nakusp?
9.1% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 1.6% belong to a visible minority and 8.4% have an Indigenous identity.
What religion are people in Nakusp?
32% are Christian and 65% have no religion; 3.6% follow another religion.
Is Nakusp good for families?
Under 15: 12% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 49% of households. One-parent families: 5.9%. Schools near Nakusp are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Nakusp?
The median household in Nakusp took in $64,500 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Nakusp?
Nakusp had about 1,740 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 1,589, 1% fewer than 2016.
What is the average age in Nakusp?
A median age of 53.2. Children under 15 make up 12%, and people 65 and over 32%.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population · Statistics Canada, population estimates for 1 July 2025 (table 17-10-0155). Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).